WNY Officials Celebrate Demolition of Lackawanna's Lincoln School

2.2 acre parcel may become affordable housing area

LACKAWANNA, N.Y. (WBEN) - Officials in Lackawanna celebrated the conclusion of the demolition of the former Lincoln School on Dona Street on Friday.

The school, which was built in 1924, was an eyesore for many in the Lackawanna community because of its deteriorating conditions. After it's was no longer a school, the building was converted into a community center in the 1990's, but the non-profit Friendship House that operated the community center no longer operated it and the building sat vacant for over ten years.

"It was an abandoned property that was stripped of its valuable resources like copper," Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. "Windows were destroyed. Homeless people were living there."

The $1,023,000 demolition project began earlier this year.

Officials now hope to turn the soon-to-be 2.2 acre parcel into an affordable housing area, though nothing is for sure.

"Housing is a priority," Lackawanna Mayor Geoff Szymanski said. "Most of the homes we put up in the City of Lackawanna has been in the first ward....With what the county is doing with the other side of Route 5 right now -which is redeveloping the steel plant property- the council and I may have a 'wait and see' so we can perhaps see what is best for this region and this city. Right now, housing is a top priority but we're not going to rush into this because it's new. We don't want to make a hasty decision right after an event just happened."